Amex says ‘business cards must now only be used for business expenditure’
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
The repercussions from the EU changes to interchange fees on credit and charge cards continue to filter through the market.
One way a card issuer can circumvent the 0.3% cap on fees is to issue ‘business’ cards as these are not capped. The reason for this was quoted on ft.com yesterday in an article about Curve:
Mastercard stated:
We are supportive of the exclusion of commercial cards from the interchange cap as they are very important to the UK. Commercial Cards are a very different product compared to consumer cards, offering merchants, cardholders, and companies / governments providing them to their employees / civil servants specific and sophisticated services, which come at a higher cost to issuers. Unlike consumer cards, which compete with cash, commercial cards do not replace cash but traditional invoicing, which is a less efficient, less transparent, and more costly form means of payments. Commercial cards are also important in supporting small businesses as a vehicle for flexible short term financing. Capping interchange fees for Commercial cards would make issuers reconsider their issuance.
How you define a ‘commercial’ card is a complex question of course. Some people I have asked believe that a commercial card will, in future, need to be settled from a business bank account.
American Express seems to be taking steps to protect itself with two changes to its Gold Business and Platinum Business cards this week.
(These cards come with generous sign-up bonuses by the way. Gold Business offers 20,000 Membership Rewards points whilst Platinum Business offers 40,000 points.)
Here is the wording sent out:
“We will add new wording to your Agreement to clarify that you and any Supplementary Cardmembers may only use the Card for business purposes. This means that you and any Supplementary Cardmembers must not use the card for personal expenditure.”
There is also another change of the rules which means that supplementary cardholders no longer have any liability for the spending they make. The primary cardholder is solely responsible for settling their bill.
I am only guessing, but I assume that this is because Amex has verified that the primary cardholder is ‘in business’ and so can hold a commercial card. If the supplementary cardholder – who would usually be an employee – was liable for their own spending it could be used as evidence that Amex was issuing cards to ‘non business people’.
It isn’t clear whether Amex will deliberately start to close down Gold Business and Platinum Business accounts if it sees large volumes of personal spending going through. They may feel they have no choice if the alternative is to lose their ability to charge a higher interchange fee. At the moment, however, this is a moot point because the cap on interchange fees does not currently apply to Gold and Platinum Amex cards as I understand it.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2021 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our March 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.
Until 9th April 2021, American Express is running the biggest sign-up bonuses ever seen on a UK payment card.
You will earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Platinum (apply here) and 50,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Gold (apply here) which is FREE for your first year. Points transfer 1:1 into Avios. Here are links to our reviews:

American Express Business Platinum
100,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and a long list of travel ….. Read our full review

American Express Business Gold
50,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and free for a year Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the other top current deals:

British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and a companion voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these:

American Express Business Gold
50,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum
100,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and a long list of travel ….. Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
Earn both Avios and BA On Business points with your business spending Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
Comments (54)